Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867 Part 28

[327] Ballard MS. ii. 88.

A.D. 1836.

Aubrey's collection of notes and drawings concerning Druidical and Roman antiquities in Britain, together with some miscellaneous historical notes, ent.i.tled by him _Monumenta Britannica_, in four parts (now bound in two folio volumes), was purchased, for 50, of Col. Charles Greville.

Accounts of Avebury and Stonehenge, which are important from their early date (the former being the earliest known), are to be found in these curious and interesting volumes[328]. The remainder of Aubrey's MSS.

came to the Library in 1860, upon the transfer of the books from the Ashmolean Museum. See _sub anno_ 1858.

A collection of about 300 tracts, relating to American affairs and the War of Independence, in forty-one vols., formed by Rev. Jonathan Boucher[329], was bought for 8 18_s._ 6_d._ These are now included in the series of tracts called _G.o.dwyn Pamphlets_, in continuation of those which came, in 1770, from the donor so named. Another large gathering of American tracts, collected by Mr. George Chalmers, when engaged in writing his _History of the Revolt_, was bought in 1841 for 24 13_s._; at the same time, the first and only volume of his _History_, which itself was never actually published, was bought for 2 7_s._

_Sale Catalogues._ See 1834.

When the new Copyright Act was introduced into Parliament in this year, it was proposed to allow 500 _per annum_ to the Bodleian, in the manner adopted with regard to six other libraries, in lieu of the old privilege of receiving a copy of every book entered at Stationers' Hall. The Curators, however, on May 27, resolved that it would be highly desirable to retain the privilege, but that, should an alteration be made, it would be inexpedient to receive an annual grant by way of compensation; and in consequence of this opinion, the proposed abolition of the privilege was abandoned.

[328] A short description of them will be found in Gough's _Brit.

Topogr._ vol. ii. pp. 369-70, and a fuller account in Britton's _Memoir of Aubrey_, 1845, pp. 87-91. Mr. Britton, however, strange to say, was not aware that the volumes had been for nine years in safe custody in the Bodleian, and consequently deplores their unfortunate disappearance!

He describes their contents from an abstract in the Gough collection.

[329] An account of Mr. Boucher, who quitted America on account of his royalist principles, and afterwards was Head-Master of a well-known school at Cheam, will be found in _Notes and Queries_ for 1866, vol. ix.

pp. 75, 282.

A.D. 1837.

The magnificent series of historical prints and drawings which is called, from the name of its collectors and its donor, the Sutherland collection, was presented to the University on May 4 in this year, although it was not actually deposited in the Library until March, 1839[330]. The six volumes of the folio editions of Clarendon's _History of the Rebellion_ and _Life_, and of Burnet's _Own Times_, are inlaid and bound in sixty-one elephant folio volumes, and ill.u.s.trated with the enormous number of 19,224 portraits of every person and views of every place in any way mentioned in the text, or connected with its subject-matter[331]. The gathering was commenced in 1795 by Alexander Hendras Sutherland, Esq., F.S.A.; on his death (May 21, 1820) it was taken up by his widow[332], who spared neither labour nor money to render it as complete as possible, and by whom its contents were, consequently, nearly doubled. At length, desiring, in accordance with her husband's will, that the results of her own and his labour should be always preserved intact, Mrs. Sutherland presented the whole collection to the Bodleian. Its extent may be in some degree appreciated when it is mentioned that there are (according to Mrs. Sutherland's statement in the preface to the Supplementary Catalogue) 184 portraits of James I, of which 135 are distinct plates; 743 of Charles I, of which 573 are distinct plates, besides sixteen drawings; 373 of Cromwell (253 plates); 552 of Charles II (428 plates); 276 of James II; 175 of Mary II (143 plates); and 431 of William III, of which 363 are separate plates[333].

There are also 309 views of London and 166 of Westminster. Amongst those of London is a drawing on many sheets, by a Dutch artist, Antonio van den Wyngaerde, executed between 1558-1563. It affords a view which extends from the Palace at Westminster to that at Greenwich, both included; and comprehends also Lambeth Palace and part of Southwark, with the palace there of the Protector Somerset, in which the Mint was situated. The whole amount expended on the formation of the series is estimated at 20,000.

The collection is accompanied by a handsomely printed Catalogue, compiled by Mrs. Sutherland, and published in 1837 in three volumes quarto, two containing the portraits, and one the topography[334]. A Supplement to this was printed in the following year, in the preface to which Mrs. Sutherland records her transfer of the collection. She adds that 'the University of Oxford, by the manner in which it has received the collection, has afforded her the high gratification of witnessing the fulfilment, in their utmost extent, of the wishes of its founder; and in the liberal step which its future conservators have taken, to insure a direct and easy means of reference to the prints, she finds proof of their intention to comply with her own earnest desire, that the books should be as freely open to those really interested in them as may be consistent with their safe preservation. Under the superintendence of the compiler, but at the expense of the University, a copy of the Catalogue has been prepared, in which every print is marked with the page which it respectively fills in the volumes; by means of this, every difficulty of reference, and every doubt as to the print intended to be described, is obviated, and the ma.n.u.script indices will be preserved from the injury of constant use. In order to prevent the possibility of disappointment in referring from this marked catalogue, every print (with four exceptions only) of which the page has not been ascertained, has been struck out, although probably several of the portraits not at present found are still in the volumes.' The following letter of thanks was addressed by Convocation to the donor[335]:--

'To Mrs. Sutherland, of Merrow, in the County of Surrey.

'MADAM,--We, the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford, feel ourselves called upon to acknowledge, in a public and formal manner, the splendid donation recently made by you to our Bodleian Library.

'It is doubtless a source of much gratification to us that our University should have been selected by you as the fittest depository of so valuable a collection; but we are not, on that account, less disposed to appreciate and admire the feeling which has led you to make so considerable a sacrifice, and to relinquish the possession of what has been to you, for many years, an object of constant interest and occupation.

'We shall prize the matchless volumes about to be committed to our care, not merely as being embellished with the richest specimens of the graphic art, but as possessing a real historical character; as enhancing, in no slight degree, the value of works which we have long been accustomed to regard as most important contributions to the annals and literature of our Country.

'Given at our House of Convocation, under our Common Seal, this first day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven[336].'

A few other books were sent by Mrs. Sutherland at the same time, including Boydell's _Shakespeare_, Heath's _Chronicle_, Scott's edition of Dalrymple's _Preservation of Charles II_, Faber's _Kit-Cat Club_, Wilson's _Catalogue of an Amateur_, &c. And in 1843 she increased her former gift by the presentation of copies of a large number of ill.u.s.trated, biographical, and historical works, many of which are in a like manner enriched with additional engravings. Chief amongst these is a copy of Park's edition of Walpole's _Royal and n.o.ble Authors_, enlarged from five vols. 8^o. to 20 vols. 4^o. by the insertion of prints, portraits, and some of the original drawings. Similarly enlarged copies of Dr. Dibdin's works are also included; together with framed oil-portraits of Frederic, King of Bohemia, and of Mr. Sutherland.

A curious collection of rare Dutch tracts, in two vols., printed at Amsterdam between 1637 and 1664, and relating to English, Irish, and Scottish affairs, chiefly during the Civil Wars, was bought for 2 13_s._ And an enormous gathering of English pamphlets, on every kind of subject, in prose and verse, between about 1600 and 1820, said to number 19,380 articles, and which had acc.u.mulated in the stores of the well-known bookseller, Mr. Thomas Rodd, was bought of him for 101 14_s._ 6_d._ These exceeding, from their number, the powers of the then very slender staff of the Library for arrangement and cataloguing, remained piled up in cupboards for about twenty-five years. But a general clearance out of all neglected corners taking place on the appointment of the present Librarian to the Heads.h.i.+p, they were then sorted (to a certain extent), bound, numbered, and incorporated in the general Catalogue; when they proved to be a valuable addition to the pamphlet-literature, comparatively few of them being found to be duplicates.

_Shakespeare_; _Romeo and Juliet._ See 1834.

_Sanscrit MSS._ See 1842.

A grant was made by Convocation of 400 annually, for five years, towards the expense of the new Catalogue, the printing of which was commenced in the summer. A statute also was pa.s.sed providing that there should be two 'ministri,' or a.s.sistants, with salaries regulated by the Curators.

The Rev. Herbert Hill, M.A., Fellow of New College, was approved by Convocation, on Oct. 26, as Sub-librarian, in the room of Mr. Cureton, who removed in this year to the British Museum. Mr. Hill, however, only held the office for one year. And Mr. Richard Firth, New College (B.A.

1839, M.A. 1849, now, and from 1850, a Chaplain in the diocese of Madras), became _minister_ in the room of Mr. F. J. Marshall, New College (B.A. 1834, M.A. 1837, Chaplain of New College, deceased 1843), who had probably entered the Library in 1834 in the place of Mr. Etty.

[330] MS. note by Mrs. Sutherland in the Library copy of her catalogue.

[331] As early as 1819 the collection numbered 10,000 prints, bound in 57 volumes. Clarke's _Repert. Bibliogr._ pp. 574-577.

[332] Mrs. Sutherland died March 18, 1852.

[333] In Mrs. Sutherland's own copy of the catalogue (now in the possession of E. L. Hussey, Esq., Oxford), some of these numbers are enlarged in MS. as follows: Charles II, 557, being 432 plates; Cromwell, 379, 255 plates; William III, 436, 367 plates. Amongst the portraits, there are frequently numerous copies of the same plate, being impressions in all its different states. In a few instances (particularly with regard to Charles I) some of the prints entered in the catalogue have not been found in the volumes.

[334] Ten copies were printed of a larger and finer edition, for presentation to various Libraries, but as only four of these (Bodleian, Cambridge University, British Museum, and Bibl. Royale, Paris) acknowledged the gift (the letters from which are preserved in one copy of the catalogue), no more than five copies were printed of the Supplement. Consequently those Libraries which did not return thanks for the gift have now an imperfect book.

[335] It is here printed from the original (written in the beautifully neat hand of the late Registrar, Dr. Bliss,) which is now in the possession of a nephew of Mrs. Sutherland, Edw. Law Hussey, Esq., of Oxford, M.R.C.S. It is sealed with the old University seal, described on p. 1 of these _Annals_, enclosed in a gold box. The late Rev. R. Hussey, Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, was one of the brothers of Mrs. Sutherland.

[336] A very erroneous notice of the collection, written in a singularly depreciatory tone, was inserted in an article in the _Quarterly Review_, in 1852, vol. xci. p. 217. The writer appears to have confounded the facts connected with Gough's preference of the Bodleian to the British Museum (as told in Nichols' _Lit. Hist._), or possibly Douce's, with the totally different circ.u.mstances of Mrs. Sutherland's gift, whose husband had left the collection entirely at her disposal, provided only that it were not dispersed.

A.D. 1838.

One of the 'curiosities of literature' was obtained by the purchase (for 10 10_s._) of the _System of Divinity, in a Course of Sermons on the first Inst.i.tutions of Religion_, by Rev. Will. Davy, A.B., Vicar of l.u.s.tleigh, Devon. It is a work in twenty-six volumes, of which only fourteen copies were printed, entirely by the hands of the indefatigable author himself, between the years 1795 and 1807. It is very roughly executed, the author having purchased only just so much old and worn-out type, as sufficed for the printing of two pages at once; accomplis.h.i.+ng in this way the work upon which he had set his heart, 'arte mea, diurno nocturnoque labore' (as he says in a Latin preface), in consequence of having failed to procure in any other way the publication of his book.

The copy in our Library is distinguished by having many additions inserted, printed (in many cases with later and better type) upon small slips[337].

A set of the _Monthly Review_, from the commencement to 1828, in 200 volumes, in which the names of the contributors are appended in MS. to their several articles, together with a volume of Correspondence with the Editor, Ralph Griffiths, LL.D., between 1758 and 1802 (now numbered Bodl. MS. Addit. VII. D. 11), was bought for 42.

Among the donations were: 1. A collection of twenty-one Oriental works, printed between 1808-1835 by the East India Company, presented by the Directors, and, 2. A valuable series, MS. and printed, of the Statutes of various Italian cities, presented by George Bowyer, Esq. (the present baronet, who succeeded to the t.i.tle in 1860), who also in the years 1839, 1842, and 1843, forwarded large additions to the printed series.

These volumes are now kept distinct as a separate collection. Altogether there are seventy-eight printed volumes, besides four MSS.

On Nov. 15, a Statute was approved by Convocation which raised the stipend of the Sub-librarians from 150 to 250.

From the year 1825 an annual folio Catalogue had been printed, containing, in one list, all the accessions accruing in each year from purchases, gifts, and the supply of new publications from Stationers'

Hall. The issue of these lists was discontinued after the appearance of that for the years 1837 and 1838 jointly; except that in 1843 one for that year was printed in octavo.

A form of declaration and promise for due use of the privilege of admission to the Library, to be made by all graduates upon taking their first degree, in lieu of the oath formerly required, was approved by Convocation, on June 9[338]. In accordance with this form, which is still used, each graduate now promises: 'Me libros caeterumque cultum sic tractaturum ut superesse quam diutissime possint, et, quantum in me est, curaturum ne quid Bibliotheca detrimenti aut incommodi capiat.' The same declaration is subscribed in the Library by all non-graduates who are admitted to read there, with the addition of a promise that they will devote their attention 'ad studia et silentium.' The statutable penalty for any wilful mutilation or abstraction of any book, or portion of a book, is immediate expulsion from the Library and University, 'sine ulla spe regressus.'

On the resignation of Rev. H. Hill, Sub-librarian, in this year, he was succeeded by Rev. H. O. c.o.xe, M.A., of Worcester College, who had previously worked for five years and a-half in the Department of MSS. in the British Museum[339]. Mr. c.o.xe's nomination was approved by Convocation on Nov. 16.

[337] Mr. Davy has had a rival, with much more success, within late years in the Rev. Thos. R. Brown, M.A., Vicar of Southwick, Northamptons.h.i.+re. The Library possesses three works written and printed by this gentleman in his own house. The first is ent.i.tled, _A Grammar of the Hebrew Hieroglyphs applied to the S. Scriptures, containing the History of the Creation of the Universe and the Fall of Man_, 8^o.

1840. This appears to have been partly _composed_ in type, literally as well as technically, for the author says that 'a considerable part of the mental composition is coeval with' the manual labour, which last was entirely performed by himself. A second book appeared in 1841, _Elements of Sanscrit Grammar_. A third, _A Dictionary, containing English Words of difficult Etymology_, tracing them chiefly to Sanscrit roots, appeared in two vols. 8^o. 1843. Of this the author certifies that only nine copies were printed, and the one now in the Library was bought of Mr. Lilly (who had it from the author) for 5 5_s._ in 1855. The execution of all these volumes does the reverend printer great credit.

The Rev. Dr. J. A. Giles had also a private press for some time in his house at Bampton, Oxon., which he taught some of the village children to work, and from which issued some of the publications of the Caxton Society, but the results were anything but satisfactory, although probably quite as good as could be expected from such juvenile compositors.

[338] A previous proposal of this alteration had been rejected by Convocation on March 17, 1836.

[339] Mr. c.o.xe had a considerable share in the compilation of the folio catalogue of the Arundel MSS. preserved in the Museum.

A.D. 1839.

An application was made by Magdalen College for the return of a copy of the Statutes of the College, found among the Rawlinson MSS., but it was refused by the Curators, on the ground that sufficient evidence was not produced of its having ever been the property of the College.